Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara yesterday described the 27 House of Assembly members and former local government chairmen as mere distractions. He said the Almighty God who brought him into the office will sustain him as chief executive of the state. The governor spoke as a Special Guest during the 100 years centenary celebration of the First African Church Mission, Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-Harcourt, the state capital......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
Fubara, who reflected on the protracted crisis in the state, said although the former council chairmen and lawmakers wanted to distract him, he would stay focused.
The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, said his detractors have started the 2027 battle.
He said: We are aware of these attempts to make us lose focus so that when 2027 comes, they would say, what has he achieved?
“But I am focused on God and focused to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of Rivers. I am focused to ensure the cardinal goals of this administration within the next four years are achieved in education, healthcare, agriculture, housing and infrastructural development.”
An opposition party, the Action Peoples Party (APP), urged Fubara to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because of the crisis and team up with its platform.
According to APP Chairman, Sunny Wokekoro, PDP has lost relevance in Rivers State.
My achievements speak for me, says Fubara
The governor said that he would not spend the people’s resources on the celebration of his achievements, adding that he would allow the people to judge him by their testimony about the quiet revolution taking place in the state.
He said: “Only on Friday, we flagged off the smart Port City in Eleme LGA to resuscitate the Garden City effect in other parts of the state as well as the TAF City under construction at the corridors of the international airport.
“I assure you that in addition to developments in health care, education, agriculture, infrastructure and others, we will develop new cities that benefit all Rivers people.”
“Our request from you is to keep praying for the governor, the government and the state. We know that it is the prayer of the faithful that is sustaining the government and we will not be tired as you keep praying. The mandate given to us will be used judiciously”.
The governor supported the celebration with N30million for the construction of support offices by the church.
APP chairman woos Fubara
Rivers State APP Chairman Wokekoro, who clarified that Fubara has not defected to the platform, confirmed that the opposition party has started wooing him.
He also recalled that the immediate past leadership of the party, led by Kenneth Atata, paid the governor a solidarity visit at the party’s secretariat in Port Harcourt.
Wokekoro said APP would demonstrate its strength during the October 5 local government elections in the state.
He said the PDP was no longer a viable option for any politician that meant well for the state, adding that it has lost its relevance.
Wokekoro said: “I was a founding member of the PDP. I started by being a G-34 coordinator in Port Harcourt. I was a foundation member of that party. The recent events in the country regarding the party’s administration, that party (PDP) is not supposed to house or to still retain any person who has morals; any person who has integrity should have left that party by now.
“All of us that mean well for this nation. All of us that mean well for this state have moved and the movement has brought us to this party. APP is the new destination.
“There is one impression I have to correct in this gathering; the impression that Governor Siminalayi Fubara is a member of this party or he owns this party. This party has been in existence since 2017. It predates any of us who have just joined the party.
“So, no one person can claim to be the owner of this party. And the truth remains that as I speak to you today, Siminalayi Fubara, the executive governor of Rivers State, is not a member of our party.”
He added: “However, a good party administrator goes out there looking for the best materials to fill in for elective positions. We’re going to do that; not just me, but all of us are going to do that.
“Women are going to do that, the students are going to do that, the market women are going to do that, politicians are going to do that. We are going to persuade our governor to, if possible during his re-election, APP should be his platform for that re-election.
“Not just the governor alone, all the Assembly people that mean well for this state, all National Assembly people that mean well for this state and for this nation. We are going to persuade them with every breath in our body that this is the right party for them to join.”
Wokekoro noted that he accepted the responsibility to lead the party because its manifesto had a clear direction.
He said: “I believe every one gathered here, whether you’re a man, woman, or student you’ve got a role to play.
“What is the role we have to play, so that we can usher in a new pattern of administration in our state, starting with Rivers State, so that we’ll move on to the other parts of the state and by the special grace of God to the nation?”
The APP National Chairman, Uchenna Nnadi, lauded the immediate leadership of the party in the state, saying thatc it brought the party to limelight.
Nnadi said: “The way you people resigned to give birth to a new leadership for the interest of Rivers people, I want you to know that at the national headquarters we celebrate you. The sacrifice you people made is uncommon.”
Nnadi said issues that would have caused crisis and litigation in other parties were amicably resolved in the party.
Urging the new leadership to carry everyone along, he also advised the members to support the new leadership.
Nnadi said: “I want to commend the new leadership of the Action Peoples Party in Rivers State, led by the able and amiable chairman, Sunny Wokekoro. Within a short while, you have made us proud. Within a short while, our party is being recognized nationally.
“And within the short period I have stayed in Rivers State, I have seen an influx of people trooping to identify with our party, and I believe by the special grace of God, we will show our strength collectively as we seated here on October 5, 2024 in the forthcoming local government elections.”